The Wirebird( Charadrius sanctaehelenae )

The critically endangered Wirebird is St Helena’s only surviving endemic bird. It is a small plover, which attracts a great deal of interest from the local community as well from visitors. There are currently only 322 individuals to be found on the island, which means on a global scale it is a very rare species.

Feeding

The Wirebird likes to feed on a variety of ground-living insects, especially beetles, which it catches using a ‘run and grab’ technique.

Nesting

The Wirebird likes fairly flat land or very gently sloping ground with well-grazed grass or fairly bare of undergrowth which gives it a clear view of potential predators. It nests by scraping out a small hollow – not even as deep as a shallow sweet dish!  The Wirebird lays 2 eggs and covers the nest with some dried grass or other vegetation before leaving the nest. This protects them from the heat of the sun as well as from predators. Both male and female birds take turns to incubate the eggs.

Behaviour

The Wirebird will deliberately lure a predator away from the nest by running at speed as soon as it detects a predator and also by doing what is called its “broken wing display” where the bird mimics a broken wing dragging it along the ground.

Sites

The Wirebird is found above and around the Central Basin of Prosperous Bay Plain. It also favours other habitats such as Deadwood Plain ( a dry pasture) and Broad Bottom ( a wet pasture).

Conservation

In the last 5 years there has been a significant decline of 43% in the population. The main causes appear to be habitat degradation due to reduced grazing, the proliferation of invasive plants and predation, mainly by feral cats.  Supported by a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) funded project, research is ongoing into the breeding distribution and success of the Wirebird in these differing habitats, with the aim of conserving the Wirebird.